Trans Canada Trail in Manitoba Blog

As fall 2020 approached, we headed into Manitoba on the Trans Canada Trail.  Autumn foliage was at its peak as we walked the South Whiteshell and Pinawa Trails.  As we approached Winnipeg the landscape opened up into the vast, flat, prairie with its endless sky.  Continuing in spring 2021, we walked the Crow Wing Pilgrimage route (Chemin St Paul), which follows an 1800's Red River Cart trail from Winnipeg to Emerson. Extreme heat, little water, and remote landscapes were challenges we faced.  However, American Pelicans, ground squirrels, and prairie bison were among the exciting new wildlife we encountered as we continued north along the Rossburn Subdivision Trail and the Crocus Trail North, heading across Treat y 2 and Treaty 4 land towards Saskatchewan.

" ... the sea, the woods, the mountains,

all suffer in comparison to the prairie ...

the prairie has a stronger hold upon the senses."

                                                            Albert Pike

This blog documents our #Hike4Birds on the Trans Canada Trail in Manitoba, Canada. We invite you to Come Walk With Us by exploring our daily blog entries, where we share photographs and stories of the birds, natural landscapes, histories, challenges, and highlights we experienced while traveling across Canada on foot. Happy Trails!

Hiking the Trans Canada Trail in Eastern Manitoba

Soundtrack for Eastern Manitoba

Welcome to Manitoba, South Whiteshell to Falcon Lake

Scouting Trails in Manitoba, Falcon Lake to Bear Lake 

Bridges and Bushwhacking, Bear Lake to Rennie 

Epic Dam Hike, Rennie to Cabin Lake

Fall Colours on Theoretical Trails, Cabin Lk to Betula Lk

Voices from the Past, Betula Lake to Dorothy Lake 

'You're an Idiot', Dorothy Lake to beyond Seven Sisters

A Short Hike, a Needed Break, Seven Sisters to Pinawa 

Birding the Boreal, Pinawa to Lac du Bonnet 

River Otters and Reroutes, Lac du Bonnet to Powerview

Boreal to Lowlands, Powerview to beyond Stead

A Blustery Fall Day, Beyond Stead to Brokenhead 

'Sheeple' and Prairie Mud, Brokenhead to Selkirk

Birding the Prairies, Selkirk to Birds Hill Provincial Park 

Hiking Duff's Ditch, Birds Hill PP to East St. Paul 

"Press On" to the Forks, St. Paul to Winnipeg 

The Long and Winding Road, Tough Choices 

Hiking The Great Trail in Eastern Manitoba

Great Trail in Eastern Manitoba (Whiteshell-Winnipeg) 

Read your way across Canada on the Great Trail

Walking South from Winnipeg on the Crow Wing Trail

2021, Heading West Again...on the Great Trail 

The Wonder of Train Travel, Heading West Pt. II 

Winnipeg Forks, Lived Realities and New Perspectives

Songs for the Trans Canada Trail, Manitoba Soundtrack 

Breathe and Press On, The Forks to Westdale

Heros Live Here, Westdale to Beaudry Provincial Park

Nature in the City, Railtrails, Prairie Birds, and Bison

A Short Hot day, Riel House to St. Norbert

Into the Canadian Meseta ... 

Crow Wing Trail, St. Norbert to Niverville 

5 West, 5 South, 5 East, Niverville to St. Pierre Jolys

Canadian Camino: St. Pierre Jolys to St. Malo

Searching for Shade and Ticks, St. Malo to Some Trees

Under a Hard Sun, Hutterite Forest to Emerson 

Emerson, Southern Manitoba's Hidden Birding Hotspot  

Canadian Camino, Crow Wing Trail / Chemin St. Paul

Hike4Birds Heads West on the Trans Canada Trail in Manitoba

Post Road and Paintings, Emerson to Altona 

A Meandering Trail to Haven, Altona to Wakerobin B&B  

Extraordinary Kindness, Extraordinary Obstacles, to Stanley Centennial Park

Oppressive Heat Returns, Stanley Centennial to Morden

Dino and Dana Meise, Morden to Miami

Amazing Dedication and Local Pride, Miami to Altamont

Wind Farms and Wild fires, Altamont to Somerset  

Rolling Hills of Manitoba, Somerset to Cypress River

Shifting Expectations and Tough Decisions, Cypress River to Spruce Woods PP

Everything Happens for a Reason, Spruce Woods to Carberry 

Smoke and Storm Fronts, Carberry to Neepawa

The Stone Angel, Exploring Neepawa, MB 

Walking the Rossburn Subdivision Trail, Manitoba

Prairie Mud and Gopher Holes, Neepawa to Bethany

Painted Landscapes, Beyond Bethany to Erickson

Time to Reflect, Erickson to Sandy Lake to a field

The Duck Factory, Forest Campsite to beyond Rossburn  

A Good-hearted Farmer Shall Save them, Rossburn to Russell

Cafes and Murals, Exploring Russell Manitoba 

Grain Elevators and Prairie Giants, Russell to Inglis  

Mountain Bike Paradise, Inglis through Asessippi PP

A Return to Concessions, Asessippi Valley to Roblin 

Northward Bound, Roblin to Duck Mountain Forest 

Amazing Trails Into Saskatchewan

Manitoba Words of Wisdom from the Trans Canada Trail

 

The goal of our #Hike4Birds was to inspire people of all ages, physical abilities, cultural backgrounds, orientations, and identities to reconnect with nature through birds and Citizen Science. To learn more about our project, how you can get involved, and ways to support our work, please visit the Come Walk With Us website.